a. Technical Field
This instant disclosure relates generally to the sewing of formed, plastic skins with recesses representing seams and, more particularly, to a system for decorative stitching of the skins.
b. Background Art
This background description is set forth below for the purpose of providing context only. Therefore, any aspects of this background description, to the extent that it does not otherwise qualify as prior art, is neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the instant disclosure.
Automotive interior components are produced to a variety of specifications based upon the quality and fit expected by customers. For automotive instrument panels and other formed, plastic skins with recesses representing seams, a hand-crafted stitched appearance with a contrasting thread color is generally indicative of a high-quality product, whereas a molded stitch-like feature is seen as an imitation and, thus, a lower-quality product. Therefore, for automotive instrument panels and other such components, a stitched appearance is generally desirable over an otherwise molded stitch-like feature appearance for imparting the look and feel of a high-quality product, even if the displayed stitches appear to join the various sections of different components but actually are provided for decorative purposes only.
The location tolerances associated with decorative stitching are very tight and can be as small as one half of a millimeter. Therefore, it is difficult for the operator to sew within these tolerances with just his or her own eyes. Automated sewing machines generally allow for faster processing; however, automated sewing machines cannot maneuver the skin adequately, particularly where there are sharp angles or other complex geometries in the stitching.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.